A Discussion of the Utmost Importance
by just drifting
Summary: Adelle and Topher discuss the right way to fold underwear, both while high and while the world ends.


**Story Title:** A Discussion of the Utmost Importance  
**Genre:** Dollhouse  
**Characters/Pairings:** Topher, Adelle  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** Adelle and Topher discuss the right way to fold underwear, both while high and while the world ends.  
**Prompt:** mistake, underwear, blush  
**Notes:** Written for ozmissage for The Sweet Drabblthon.

The carpet itches her back, even through her blouse. She doesn't like itchy carpet. She doesn't understand how Topher can work in a place that has _itchy carpet_. Lord knows she never could. She'd be staring at it constantly, always worrying about it or getting angry at it. It would distract her way too much. She wiggles slightly, trying to get comfortable. She can't. No, she would never be able to work in a room with itchy carpet.. She turns her head and is just about to ask him about it when she catches sight of him. She frowns.

"Hey, hey!" he calls and her gaze lifts to his eyes. "What are you frowning at? Are you frowning at me? I don't like being frowned at!"

She doesn't answer him. Instead she says, "What are you wearing?" and her eyes go to his bottom half.

"What?" he says. "What's wrong with these?" He looks offended as he stares down at his underwear

She laughs. "_What's wrong with them?_" she mocks. "They're white! That's very much wrong with them!"

"What's wrong with white?" he asks, pulling at the fabric.

She rolls her eyes. "If you're going to wear underwear at all, then it _has_ to be with pretty patterns and pictures. White is just so... white. Ugh."

"I bet you don't even wear stuff like that all the time," he says, jutting his bottom chin out like a child. "I bet you're not even wearing them now."

"I am so!" she snaps. She rolls onto her side so she's facing him and glares. How dare he insult her like that?!

"Are not!" he retorts. He meets her eyes evenly, unafraid of her glare like he wouldn't usually be. Or maybe she's just not as intimidating, lying here on the carpet with no shoes, eating starches.

"Fine, I'll show you!" She sits up and starts pulling her stockings down but he doesn't seem to be watching anymore. She fumes. She is his superior; he should pay attention to her!

"You know what I have?" he says, now turning to look at her.

"What?" she asks snappily, mad at him for ignoring her.

"Star Wars underwear."

Her eyes grow large. She's completely forgotten her anger from just a moment before. "Really?" she asks in awe.

"Yup," he says, smirking.

She frowns. "That's not fair."

"What's not fair?"

"_I_ want them!" She crosses her arms and huffs. She wonder if ordering him to give them to her on account of big boss-lady matters would be too mean.

He considers her for a moment, head tilting to the side. After a moment he says, "You can borrow them if you want."

"Really?" She starts bouncing up and down excitedly. "Really truly?"

"Sure, but you gotta promise me one thing."

"What is it?" she asks, leaning in close to him so he can tell her.

"It's a very important thing. Not to be taken lightly." He looks grave.

"Anything." Her eyes are wide and she readies herself to receive this huge 'very-important' thing.

"You have to promise to fold them properly," he tells her, very serious.

She crinkles her nose. "There's a proper way to folding underwear?" She never folds her underwear, just throws them in the draw. She wasn't aware you had to fold them, let alone there was a proper way to do so!

He nods vehemently. "Of course there is!"

She doesn't like him knowing more than her. That's not supposed to happen. "Well, show me then!"

He sits forward on his hinges. "Okay, imagine the underwear's there." He draws a little circle on the itchy carpet with his fingers.

"But it's not." She frowns in confusion. There's nothing there.

"But imagine it is!"

_Oh, okay._ "Fine."

"You have to fold the left hand corner in so it's a third of the way." He mimes it with his hands, pretending to fold a third in. "Only a third, mind you! This is very important." She nods and watches his hands closely. "Then you do the same with the right hand side, so that it crosses the left." He mimes the folding again. His hands are getting a bit tangled. "So then you've got on long strip. Then, you fold the bottom bit up, half way almost—almost but not quite—then you fold it again so it's a nice, neat, perfect square. You get it?"

She nods slowly, furrowing her brow. "I think so."

"You better. You can't have them if you don't fold them properly." He stares gravely at her again.  
"I'll practice tonight!" she all but shouts. She wants this pair underwear, damn it! Imagine, _Star Wars underwear_. Think of all the pretty pictures!

"Okay, good. I'll bring it in tomorrow then."

"Thank you!" She launches herself at him, tackling him into a hug.

That night she stands by her dresser, a basket of clean washing in her hands. She can't _believe_ how she acted. The things she said! Oh, god... She is never going to live this down. She wonders if she'll ever be able to look Topher in the eye again. She highly doubts it. The _embarrassment_ of it all. Her cheeks tinge pink slightly just at the memory.

And if Topher... If Topher _dares_ bring in that underwear he promised her, she'd... Well, she doesn't know what she'd do. Die of mortification, no doubt. God... It's the kind of thing someone like Topher would do. Embarrass one's boss as much as possible. Don't let her forget the things she admitted to you while she was high as a kite. It's true, she does have a penchant for...coloured underwear, but not...not _Star Wars_. She doesn't even like Star Wars, for goodness sakes! And who has Star Wars underwear, anyway? Where does one get such a thing? Not that she wants any, mind you. She's perfectly happy with what she's got, thank you very much.

Unknowingly, while she was thinking, her hands had automatically started to fold her own underwear in the exact way Topher had just taught her.

...

She hears Topher's cry from where she sits at the table with Dr. Saunders. They both look up, alarmed, and Dr. Saunders' stricken eyes meet hers.

"I'll go," she says.

Dr. Saunders nods and drops her head again. She doesn't talk much anymore. No one really does.

She hurries out of the room and down the corridor. She doesn't often leave Topher alone and she doesn't like to, precisely for this reason, but Dr. Saunders had looked so lonely when she'd asked her if she wanted anything to eat that she couldn't not agree.

"Topher, what's wrong?" she asks as she comes into the room. Topher sits on the floor beside a pile of washing that she'd just put down before going out with Dr. Saunders. She hadn't yet had time to sort through it. Topher stares at it, a mix between anger and hurt in his eyes.

"You didn't do it!" he tells her, his gaze leaving the washing for a moment to glare at her before turning back to it.

"What didn't I do, sweetheart?" she asks softly, coming to kneel beside him. "What was it?"

He points accusingly at the pile of washing. "They're not folded."

She looks surprised. Why does it matter? "No, sweetheart, I haven't had time."

"But it's _important_," he insists. "So, so important."

"I know, Topher, I know, but spending time with Dr. Saunders is important as well."

He looks horrified. She knows she shouldn't have said something like that to him, she doesn't want to hurt his feelings but he needs to know that he's not the only one she cares about. But then he turns to pick a pair of underwear off the pile. "The proper folding of underwear comes before _anything_ else," he says.

"Oh." So he hadn't been offended at her spending time with Dr. Saunders.

"You _know_ that." If the world hadn't been ending, she would probably laugh. Her mind returns to that day, all those years ago, when she and he had gotten high together and talked about the importance of proper underwear folding. It is _very_ important.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she tells him. "I made a mistake."

He looks at her doubtfully. "You shouldn't make mistakes!"

"I know, I know," she says. "It won't happen again. Promise."

He frowns. Should he accept her apology? "Fine," he finally relents.

She smiles widely at him before saying, "Why don't we fold them now together? You can make sure I remember how to do them properly."

"Okay..." he says slowly. Then he nods. "Yep, okay."

"Good."

She pulls their underwear from the pile and he shows her again how to fold them properly, telling her exactly what to do and what will happen if she doesn't. She listens and does as he tells her.

When they divide the pile in two, she makes sure he gets the Star Wars ones. She thinks he'll enjoy that.


End file.
